The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Marking 70 years of service
Daughter continues family’s level of customer service, charity
MIDDLETOWN — For seven decades, the family-run Didato Oil Service has treated its customers like trusted friends.
The late patriarch, Salvatore Didato Sr., who began the company in 1948 with $800 to his name, wouldn’t have it any other way, said his daughter Kathleen, who now runs Didato Oil.
Her father was one of a kind, she said.
“Every time the phone rings in the middle of the night, I have a stab of the heart —but I grew up with it all my life,” she said, recalling times, since she was very young, Salvatore Didato would go out even in the harshest of weather, to respond to heating emergencies.
Years ago, plowing roads took much longer than nowadays, she said.
“One of the side streets (in the North End), the snow was so deep. They had a little baby, hadn’t been plowed yet, they were out of oil. My father went to (the nearest cross street) Grand Street. He’d fill 5gallon buckets in the snow.
“He’d fill it on the main street so he could walk down Grove Street, and put enough oil in for the family to enjoy heat until they were plowed out,” said Kathleen Didato, whose family grew up on South Main Street.
That type of service was her father’s trademark, she said.
“It didn’t matter. There was a baby there. The care was there. And he would go start the boiler. It doesn’t start right up when you put oil in — you have to bleed it.”
Salvatore Didato died in 2005, but the family continued his top-notch level of service, as well as his civic involvement and philanthropy.
In celebration of 70 years of operation, Didato’s is offering a $70 account credit on oil or service to automatic delivery customers who refer another individual who signs up for the service by Nov. 30.
Both customers will be added to a drawing for a free cleaning service, or heating system tune-up, valued at up to $425.
Non-automatic delivery customers who sign up by the same date will earn a $70 credit.
Kathleen Didato has run the business since her father died, with the help of her mother and late brother until they in died 2014.
At 26, her father was working two jobs, at the former National Paint and Wallpaper on Washington Street and Lyman Orchards in Middlefield.
The business had very humble beginnings: One oil truck and one employee. Now, Didato’s offers oil delivery services, complete HVAC, and a retail showroom. The business also sells propane, equipment generators and fireplaces.
Customer Ed Dypa considered Salvatore Didato a friend. He said the family patriarch was a gentleman.
Dypa has been a customer for what “seems like an eternity.”
“Anytime we had a problem, they were right here,” he said. “The service is fantastic, the servicemen are qualified, courteous, they’re neat. It’s a pleasure to have a company that still provides a decent service.”
Office manager Natalie Jarvis said the company also goes “above and beyond” for its employees. A year after she started working for Didato’s, she experienced some health difficulties.
Jarvis’ employer allowed her to take time off while she was in and out of the hospital. While recuperating, the company has allowed her to take needed time off for doctors’ appointments and treatments.
“Most companies would have let me go, but not only has Didato’s helped me to keep this job, they have also treated me like family, making a rough time much more pleasant,” she said.
Salvatore Didato Sr. was a very active member of St. Sebastian Church, volunteering at the annual Feast of St. Sebastian and other church activities. He was also a 45-year trustee.
He was Grand Knight of the Knights of Columbus, Forest City Council No. 3, twice, as well as Faithful Navigator of the Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus, according to his obituary. He was also named Citizen of the Year by the Middlesex Chamber of Commerce in 1986 and Man of the Year for Kiwanis International, among other honors.
When Maria Didato died in 2014, her daughter sought out a partner to expand their customer base. They found that in Moodus-based Dutch Oil, another family-owned business. The merger allowed the Didatos to enlarge its fleet and deliver services and products to Middlesex County and surrounding towns. It also put them in the propane business.
Naturally, the busiest time of year is during the colder months, when there is a “crazy rush for locking in rates because everyone thinks the rates go up in the wintertime,” said Michelle Larson, who works in sales and marketing.
Customers are encouraged to sign up for automatic delivery, because the company bills monthly throughout the year, enabling households to budget their payments.
In the past, whenever Dypa was in the area, he came in for a visit, even when he didn’t need the company’s services.
“You were treated like family. It was stopping in to say hello, and spending a half-hour shooting the breeze.”
Kathleen Didato has carried on her father’s work for the community. She sponsors Altrusa projects with drop-offs at the 151 William St. location, such as the annual baby food diaper and formula project for the needy, and collects hundreds of books for children and afghans for female veterans.
She recalled joining her father on deliveries since she was 5 years old. “I’d go with him in the truck and we’d go customer to customer,” she said. “We always went together.
“When dad died, it rained for 10 days. It was the rain that never stopped. I kept saying, ‘the heavens are crying,’ ” said his daughter, who added there were more than 2,000 people at her father’s wake.
“I had every denomination of people come through. People would say, ‘I had no money.’ And he’d say, ‘That’s OK, you’ll pay me.’ ”
For information, call 860-347-1764 or visit didatosenergy.com.